One in four teenaged girls in the United Sates has been infected with at least one sexually transmitted disease, according to a study released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The first study to examine the combined national prevalence of common STDs among adolescent women in the United States estimates that at least 3.2 million teens aged 14 to 19 are currently infected.
Since the study only tested for the four most common sexually transmitted diseases, it is possible that the total prevalence among US teens is greater than the study's rate of 26 percent, the authors warned.
"Today's data demonstrate the significant health risk STDs pose to millions of young women in this country every year," said Kevin Fenton, director of the CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention.
"Given that the health effects of STDs for women -- from infertility to cervical cancer -- are particularly severe, STD screening, vaccination and other prevention strategies for sexually active women are among our highest public health priorities."
Half of the 838 girls who participated in the study reported ever having sex and of those, 40 percent were infected with an STD.
African American girls were particularly at risk: 48 percent of all African American girls were infected with an STD compared to 20 percent of white teens tested.
The most common STD overall was human papillomavirus, or HPV, with an infection rate of 18.3 percent.
Chlamydia was discovered in 3.9 percent of the teens, trichomoniasis in 2.5 percent and herpes in 1.9 percent.
Among teens who had an STD, 15 percent had more than one.
Infections rate rose to 50 percent among girls with three or more partners while 20 percent of those who had only had sex with one person had been infected.
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AFP 112245 GMT 03 08
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